Reveal – Women’s sports: A man’s game

In this hour of Reveal, we’re looking into Title IX, the historic law meant to end gender discrimination in schools. We mostly see this rule play out in school sports, and behind all the fanfare, there’s a story of failure. – By Julia B. Chan, Reveal

Image: Title IX, the law meant to bridge the gender gap in schools, has given female athletes more opportunities to compete in college sports. But it’s also created some unexpected consequences. Credit: Sam Ward/Reveal

Reporter Annie Brown goes behind the numbers to uncover how female coaches lost control of college sports after Title IX went into effect in the 1970s.

In our second segment, we investigate how to make sure that a school is following Title IX.

Since the law passed, schools can pick three ways to comply with it. One of those ways is through a concept called substantial proportionality. It says women and men in a school’s sports programs should reflect the proportion of women and men in the general student body.

UCLA, for example, uses this guideline to comply with the law. Its stats look right on paper, but Reveal’s Rachel de Leon found out that the numbers don’t quite add up.

In our last segment, WBUR’s Martha Bebinger explores the next battleground for Title IX. As a country and a society, when it comes to transgender issues, we’re still figuring out bathroom logistics. Bebinger looks ahead to the playing field and asks whether transgender athletes will be able to secure a place on the team.